The milk ejection reflex or let-down reflex occurs in breastfeeding mothers to trigger lactation of milk from the breast. A suckling baby typically initiates the reflex but there are other causes, such as the sound of a baby crying or a warm sensation on the breast or chest. The latter may cause some women to lactate during and after a shower.
Undesirable lactation can be annoying, inconvenient, messy and sometimes embarrassing. In the case of lactation that continues after a shower, it can be difficult for the woman to dry herself, get dressed and perform other personal grooming acts until the lactation has stopped, which may take some time. The motion of bending over during drying and dressing may also cause or exacerbate lactation.
The usual way women deal with this situation is to wrap a towel around themselves. However, if one hand is needed to keep the towel in place, drying and dressing is difficult. Tucking the towel into itself keeps two hands free but the towel can easily come loose or undone, thus removing pressure from the breast that is desirable to slow down the milk ejection reflex. In addition, a towel does not provide any support underneath the breasts, which can be uncomfortable, particularly when the breasts are engorged or tender. Towel wraps are also known which use VELCRO®, hook-and-loop fastening material, to hold them in place but they also possess the aforementioned disadvantages.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,775,851 discloses a fabric breast support designed to be worn by pregnant women or breastfeeding mothers in the shower to support and soothe the breasts, as well as shield them from contact with potentially painful or irritating water sprays or chemical toiletries. The breast support in this document has some degree of absorbency but is not intended to be used as a towel. It is attached around the body by connecting two pads of VELCRO®, hook-and-loop fastening material, to one another. This arrangement provides little flexibility to accommodate women of different shapes and sizes, and results in pressure being applied around the middle of the garment, which is usually positioned across the nipples and may therefore be sore for the wearer.
Lactating women may also find discharge in bed a problem because of the volume of moisture that can be produced and the uncomfortable feeling caused by damp bedclothes or sheets. Many women use reusable or disposable breast pads inside a bra or tight top to absorb the leakage but the pads can easily slip out of place and lose their efficacy.
It is an object of the invention to provide an improved breast wrap that addresses one or more of the foregoing disadvantages or to at least provide the public with a useful choice.